Pocket Informant - something wicked this way comes

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.pocketinformant.com">http://www.pocketinformant.com</a><br /><br />Pocket Informant 3.3 is about ready to go and it has a few new features. The coolest is what Mr. Kac calls "Month Inline View." I can't explain it, so I'll show it to you.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2002/20020927-pi1.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2002/20020927-pi2.jpg" /><br /><br />The image on the left is the normal month view. On the right is the new inline month view. When you tap on a date (Oct 2 in my example) it blows that day up so you can see the details and expands the rest of the days in that week so you can see their timeline better. You can close the day by tapping the little triangle in the upper right or tap on another day to see that one. Very cool. There are also some new time editors that turbo-charge the functionality of the previous editors. Images available via the "More..." link below.<br />&lt;!><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2002/20020927-pi3.jpg" /><br />This is the new time picker.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2002/20020927-pi4.jpg" /><br />By tapping the blue arrow in the Time Picker above, you get the duration picker.

[Fritzly]

Look interesting, is it available already? I don't see it on the site.
TIA

[Ed Hansberry]

Look interesting, is it available already? I don't see it on the site.
TIA
No, hence the "about ready to go" comment. :wink: Final beta stages.

[farnold]

Great information. I am really looking forward to this upgrade. I use PI for a few months now and I must say, it is an excellent companion that Alex Kac and his team puts together there.

A few weeks ago I had a problem with a feature and recommended a change. Alex replied and said, he likes the idea and puts it on his list for v3.6... Just two weeks later I had it in version 3.2.1 - try that with Microsoft 8O

[ScottG]

Am I the only one who finds the inline month view way to crowded and complicated? I'm sure I'm missing the point, but right now it's hard to see how that display can simplify things for me.

[MobiliT]

I don't suppose there's any information that could be provided about the following PocketInformant annoucement? I know, I know, patience is a virtue. :wink:

"Watch this space for a new and exciting product announcement from the makers of the award winning Pocket Informant! Details about our next business application will be announced at end of September."

[Steven Cedrone]

This looks like the Datalens "Fisheye" project from the University of Maryland that was mentioned a while ago:

http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/datelens/

It would be very cool if it worked the same way!!!

Steve

[kiwi]

Wow..

what great value software. I purchased this a few weeks back when they had their sale of registration fees for $10. I love thenew features being added.

b

[Speed Racer]

This is awesome! I was wondering who was going to license Date Lens first. In order to get an idea of how it works you have to watch the video at http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/fishcal/. The screen shots do not do it justice.

[robclif4d]

Has PI fixed the speed issue? Does it refresh as quick as Agenda Fusion? Thanks.

Rob

[alex_kac]

With 3.2 and 3.2.1, for most people PI is as fast or faster than AF. But you know, it depends on how you use it and what data you have. PI and AF, though some disagree, are very different apps and do things very differently. So PI will handle some people's configs much better than AF and vice versa. Of course, we are working with some people directly to improve their experience based on their configs.

Now, as to the Inline MV - it should be in 3.3 which I hope to release next week. We are mainly tuning aesthetics and some look and feel issues. You still have the option of using the normal popup that we've used in previous versions.

[Ed Hansberry]

Am I the only one who finds the inline month view way to crowded and complicated? I'm sure I'm missing the point, but right now it's hard to see how that display can simplify things for me.

The screenshots don't do the functionality of this justice. Watch the datalense/fish-cal video links, or wait until next week to give it a try. Very intuitive and full of meaningful info. The screenshot does look complex. It isn't, really!

[Evee Ev]

I purchased PI not too long ago and I do like all of the new updates. one feature i don't like is that fact that you cannot make events private. but, if you choose the option for private it shows the pad lock to give you hope that it might be private. what gives?

[Ed Hansberry]

I purchased PI not too long ago and I do like all of the new updates. one feature i don't like is that fact that you cannot make events private. but, if you choose the option for private it shows the pad lock to give you hope that it might be private. what gives?
That "private" field is an Outlook field and simply means someone on your network that you have given permissions to view your calendar (like an assistant) can see the event exists, but cannot see what is in it.

It is of no use to most people. PI can encrypt the info though. Tap-and-hold on an appointment and select Tools|Encrypt. People can see it, but it is jibberish until you decrypt it.

[Evee Ev]

thanks to ed i have just encrypted my first appointment! thanks ed, you're a beast. :D

[cesarfong]

it will be an upgrade isn´t it? :P

[Janak Parekh]

Hmm, one of my biggest gripes about PI has been the lack of a "Work Week" view, a la Outlook and Pocket Outlook. This might just be good enough to compensate :)

Does anyone know if Alex & co. are working on a Work Week view?

Otherwise, excellent product - and I'm happy with my purchase. They're also very generous about free upgrades, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is a free upgrade too.

--bdj

[Ed Hansberry]

Does anyone know if Alex & co. are working on a Work Week view?
You already have that - use the standard Pocket PC calendar.

I want a good Year View. :)

[stareja]

Ed,

I didn't realize you were a WolfPac fan. Rock on!

[Janak Parekh]

Does anyone know if Alex & co. are working on a Work Week view?
You already have that - use the standard Pocket PC calendar.
I guess so - but PI's other features from their Calendar views are then missing. :D

Year view? If so, make it landscape... I guess that would be pretty cool, if they can squeeze more than just the date numbers. Maybe a zoomed Year view... mmm, tasty :lol:

--bdj

[Iznot Gold]

I use AF & find it infinately better than Pocket Outlook. From the screen shots, so is PI (I haven't tried PI myself). But the question is why isn't Pocket Outlook better...but then I suppose that would put PI & AF out of business and they're both doing great work.

[Ed Hansberry]

Ed,

I didn't realize you were a WolfPac fan. Rock on!
Uhm... I'm not. Don't even know what it is. :?:

[T-Will]

Whoa! Did you guys see the new mail client that the PI team will be releasing! There's a link on their main page.

[Evee Ev]

that mail client is sweet...great screen shots.

[farnold]

I use AF & find it infinately better than Pocket Outlook. From the screen shots, so is PI (I haven't tried PI myself). But the question is why isn't Pocket Outlook better...but then I suppose that would put PI & AF out of business and they're both doing great work.

I would say that's just a perfect example, that competitions between two players delivers better products for all. Even I go with PI, I'm happy to see AF out there as well. And PocketOutlook is really just another example for the lack of understanding of customer needs a monopoly shows - like ignorance of XScale, a poor Media Player and and and...

[farnold]

that mail client is sweet...great screen shots.

Hihi, what's really funny is the picture at www.pocketinformant.com about it. So, what is that Dating Insurance all about, mates? Who sent this email to Alex? And why? Any suggestions :lol: :lol: :lol:

[dcharles18]

I have a question for Alex. I'm using the trial version now and I really like it, the only thing that I don't like is that the setting for start day has to be the same for the month view and the week view. I use the seven day week view and like that to be set to 'Today', but when looking at a monthly calendar I like it to start on 'Monday'. Are there any plans to change this? (I know that tapping the 'goto today' button in month view will show me a standard calendar for the month, but that still starts on Sunday.)

[roberto_torres]

Which one do you think is better?

[stareja]

Ed,

I didn't realize you were a WolfPac fan. Rock on!
Uhm... I'm not. Don't even know what it is. :?:

Hehe. Interesting. The subject you used (Somehting wicked this way comes) is a songtitle of theirs. My mistake.

[Ed Hansberry]

Hehe. Interesting. The subject you used (Somehting wicked this way comes) is a songtitle of theirs. My mistake.

Heh heh. I think this saying predates WolfPac by a few decades. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/some32.htm

[Ed Hansberry]

Correct me if I am wrong folks, but doesn't this addition pretty much trump Datebk? Except for floating tasks (which I don't get - isn't that just an undated task that moves forward each day if left undone?) what does DateBk do that PI doesn't?

[paqguy]

I have a question for Alex. I'm using the trial version now and I really like it, the only thing that I don't like is that the setting for start day has to be the same for the month view and the week view. I use the seven day week view and like that to be set to 'Today', but when looking at a monthly calendar I like it to start on 'Monday'. Are there any plans to change this? (I know that tapping the 'goto today' button in month view will show me a standard calendar for the month, but that still starts on Sunday.)

This has been changed in the latest update. You now have separate start dates for week and month view.

[dcharles18]

This has been changed in the latest update. You now have separate start dates for week and month view.

Great, thank you.

[Jerome Carney]

I have a question for Alex. I'm using the trial version now and I really like it, the only thing that I don't like is that the setting for start day has to be the same for the month view and the week view.

I'm not Alex, but I do know that the most recent version now allows the user to set a different start day for month and week views.

[BertBert]

[quote=Evee Ev]
It is of no use to most people. PI can encrypt the info though. Tap-and-hold on an appointment and select Tools|Encrypt. People can see it, but it is jibberish until you decrypt it.

Wow, I didn't know it would do that. I've had PI ever since I owned my device, and it's got so much functionality it's amazing. One of these days I'm gonna have to sit down and RTFM.... :)

[cpoole]

PI is a classic example of a great product that just keeps improving. Since I have bought this product, it has had some major changes, all free to the registered user. If this product was provided by some of the other venders of Pocket PC software, it would be at version 6.0.0 instead of 3.3.0. Can you name software that has had a few features added so they can release a new major version and squeeze more money of their current customer base? Software developers should look at look at these guys and realize that you have to attract new customers by competitive pricing and great support. Ilium... are you listening?

[Zensbikeshop]

Just watched the video - what a fantastic idea! A brilliant approach to the calendar UI.

I really hope it works as well in PI 3.3

[jefito]

Iznot Gold wrote:

I use AF & find it infinately better than Pocket Outlook. From the screen shots, so is PI (I haven't tried PI myself). But the question is why isn't Pocket Outlook better...but then I suppose that would put PI & AF out of business and they're both doing great work.


to which farnold:

I would say that's just a perfect example, that competitions between two players delivers better products for all. Even I go with PI, I'm happy to see AF out there as well. And PocketOutlook is really just another example for the lack of understanding of customer needs a monopoly shows - like ignorance of XScale, a poor Media Player and and and...


I think that you, like many people misunderstand Microsoft's intent with Pocket Outlook and suchlike utilities that come bundled with their OS's (Notepad on Windows is similar, Calc also... the list is pretty long, as you note). They have little incentive to ship best-of-breed apps that come bundled with these systems -- they get no more money for the extra effort, nor is there any real strategic value in it.

What they tend to do is ship basic, functional, but not spectacular utilities that can certainly be improved upon, indeed nearly beg for it. This does two things: first, it helps engender developer buy-in: when there's room to improve, then enterprising people like Alex Kac and John Psuik can jump in and make a business (viable, I hope). MS knows that 3rd-party support is what really makes a platform viable (remember the "Palm has XXX thousand applications available" war cry?) Second, it helps to fireproof them against the monopoly charge: if they bundled best-of-breed software with their OS's, then 3rd-party developers would scream, and rightly so.

btw, they may be convicetd monopolists on the desktop, but they are hardly monopolists in the PDA arena.

again, btw, they are not ignorant of XScale, nor are they ignoring it. They have a strategy for XScale, and it's consistent with their dropping anybody-but-ARM-compatible CPUs. You and other XScale owners may disagree with that strategy, but they are are not ignoring the issue -- they just don't want to be supporting two versions of the OS as they did before PPC2K.

[mhowie]

Correct me if I am wrong folks, but doesn't this addition pretty much trump Datebk? Except for floating tasks (which I don't get - isn't that just an undated task that moves forward each day if left undone?) what does DateBk do that PI doesn't?


Getting close... and PI does some things which DateBk can not match. To answer your question, a couple of things which come to mind include:

1) Inability to handle recurring appts. based on a dynamic completion date (i.e., new appt. is created X days after one is completed). This may be more a limitation of Pocket Outlook than anything else, however.

2) Lack of a graphical WV. This one, however, is well within Alex's capability to create.

I haven't used Datebk for a couple of years, and was a fairly seasoned user, but beyond those two items, I can't think of much else (in addition to the floating appts. you mentioned).

Thanks,

[ctmagnus]

I'm hoping that there will be an option to have the month view show either inline or standard view and not an all-or-nothing setting. I would find it very useful to be able to switch between the two. I enjoy the standard setting where a pop-up appears when you tap on a given day but can also see where/when the inline view would be preferable. With the current setting, more info can be displayed on screen for the given day and you don't get the nasty wraps depending on the amount of info for an item.

[ctmagnus]

Also nifty, imo, would be scroll arrows in wv/mv as well as the current implementation in av/dv.

[Ed Hansberry]

Also nifty, imo, would be scroll arrows in wv/mv as well as the current implementation in av/dv.
Definitely different strokes for different folks. :D I hate the scroll arrows. I always use the scroll bar.

[Iznot Gold]

Just for info: AF v4.60 released, they say: -
NEW FOR 4.60!

New recurring appointment and task editors make it easier to setup recurring items
Advanced contact editor/preview lets you customize how you view your contacts
Preview windows give you quick access to the content in your calendar
Enhanced support for cursor pad use
Pocket PC Phone Edition: Direct phone dialing now supported from the contact view!
Improved category management
Many, many more improvements that make the best time management system for your Pocket PC even better!

[ctmagnus]

I have one more request for Pocket Infomant...

An expandable category view for tasks, similar to the implemenation in Agenda Fusion.

[ctmagnus]

This last request alone implemented in PI would make me ditch AF for good. It's task view is the only reason I still have it on my iPaq. Again, this would have to be one of those things where the user can switch between AF's task-by-category view and this

[Zensbikeshop]

I have one more request for Pocket Infomant...

An expandable category view for tasks, similar to the implemenation in Agenda Fusion.

I'd love that also. The only chink in PI's armor is the task view which I'd like to be a little clearer. I like AF's task view as well.

Can't wait for 3.3 though, that new month view looks awesome!

[ScottG]

I agree with the earlier posters' sentiments regarding PI's task view. I started using PI a couple of years ago because it allowed me to organize tasks by category without using a filter. It would display the tasks' categories in a column, and you could click on the column's heading to sort them by category. No longer does that appear to be available. AgendaFusion's task view is much cleaner.

[jimH]

:D Get it while it is hot!

[MobiliT]

I just installed version 3.3 after downloading from Pocket Informant's website and I cannot get the inline detail function of the month calendar to appear. The calendar only displays the agenda view, I cannot see events in day, week or month view-- including inline detail features. When I click on those icons or menu items, nothing happens. :cry:

After viewing that inline detail video, I'm excited to see the action first hand.

Help! I need a PI eBook for dummies by PT... :wink:

[jimH]

MobiliT,

Try a singe tap on the date.

[cesarfong]

Hi we have made an spanish review for Pocket Informant 3.2.1 in this site:

http://www.todopocketpc.com/analisis_ver_soft.asp?id_articulo=24

i am waiting for your comments

Best regards

César

[Jason Dunn]

Hehe. Interesting. The subject you used (Somehting wicked this way comes) is a songtitle of theirs. My mistake.

Heh heh. I think this saying predates WolfPac by a few decades. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/some32.htm

More than a few decades - it's from Macbeth:

"By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes."

- Macbeth

:lol:

[MobiliT]

Try a singe tap on the date.
The screen doesn't change when tapping any one of the "1", "7", or "31" icon tabs along the top right. I cannot find another way to enter these modes.

Perhaps this isn't affecting others or other users would have posted. Might it be a hardware related bug? I'm attempting this on my primary device, a Genio e550G.

[MobiliT]

Well I finally was able to get the calendar views working. I reinstalled PI, for the third time, after first manually deleting every registry key entry for PI I could find. (Yes, I uninstalled the previous version each and every time I installed a new one.) The view buttons on the right finally worked after playing with some filters. Finally I get to play. :)

[jimH]

MobiliT,

Strange, my install was fine the first over the previous 3.2.1 version. I also have a Genio 550G. Regardless, I'm glad to hear it is working for you.

jimH

[MobiliT]

I forgot to mention there were actually two releases under the same PI 3.3 version name released on October 3. I believe there is a notation in the about screen for the revised version. More infomation can be found on the WebIS Pocket Informant forum. Perhaps I had the earlier version for my first few installs.